Back to School: The textbook publishers have raised their prices by 15 to 20%

Every year at this time the newspapers in the Dominican Republic report on the ordeal faced by parents who struggle to provide their children with the books and supplies needed to begin the school year. The school year officially opens in the Dominican Republic on Thursday, 22 August 2016.

In Santiago, this year, Diario Libre interviewed several parents who all complained of a 15 to 20% increase in the cost of schoolbooks for private school students. The parents also complained, of course, of the increasing tuition costs.

To further complicate the issue, according to many parents, there were major changes in textbooks, meaning that older siblings cannot pass on last year’s textbooks for reuse this year.

Several bookstore owners told reporters that the textbook publishers have raised their prices by 15 to 20%.

Local Ministry of Education authorities told reporters they had nothing to do with the pricing of private education or the textbooks, and that the parents’ associations should be dealing with these issues.

The ministry official informed that nearly 250,000 students would be attending school in Santiago province this school year, which starts Monday, 22 August 2016.